Sidepodcast

Daily: 7th December 2009

Monday has arrived, and with it brings Robert Kubica's birthday. The Polish driver turns 25 years old today, and I hope he's throwing a big party to celebrate his drive at Renault. Oh wait, that might not be secure as he hopes. Hmm. We might be finding more out about that today, watch for breakout threads.

• We seem to be only producing F1 Debrief episodes fortnightly at the moment, but it's working very well. Yesterday's was a bit of a cracker, if we do say so ourselves. You can wait for the edited version which should be along later today, but I do recommend checking out the replay of the live show.
• We have finally drawn a line under our Sidepodscience Shell V-Power Challenge, after many months. Back then, we tested out the premium fuel in our cars and tried to talk about the science behind it, but now we have the answers from an actual Shell expert. If you haven't already, head on over to our interview with David Wood from Shell for some real science.
• My final piece of self promotion will be for Mr C's Jerez testing round-up. We tried a bit of an experiment this time round, opening up a thread for each day of the test, and Mr C concludes how this went, plus has a quick sum up of what the drivers got up to.

That should do it for now. Don't forget it is Must Comment Monday this week - although I can't talk as I have yet to find time to sit down and do it proper. I do try and comment as I go, though, and you should try it too. I'll see you in the comments.

Daily: 30th November 2009

It is Monday once again and to steal the title from the song by The Boomtown Rats; I don't like Mondays, the weekend is over and I'm having to get on with some work. This is the third daily post as part of the takeover, who knows maybe we should takeover more often? The aim for this daily thread is to be free of anything Formula One related. I hope the teams don't decide today is the day to reveal anything but by saying that I have probably tempted fate so if something does happen I'm sure breakout posts will appear as soon as humanly possible.

• Today is Must Comment Monday, so feel free to plug your latest blog posts or your blog in general. If you don't have a blog then now is the perfect time to start one. It is a lot of fun and there really no excuses not to have one.
• On an MFC note, some figures for BBC iPlayer have revealed that in October alone there were 70 million requests for programs. iPlayer is now available on 15 platforms (but not the Xbox) and it is reported to be transferring 12.5gb worth of data per second.
• Its the last day of November and Christmas is only 25 days away. Which means the Christmas special of Doctor Who is fast approaching, BlogtorWho have images of the Christmas Radio times cover & feature on "The End of Time". I, for one, can't wait for the Christmas special.

Finally I know I already mentioned it, but please remember is it Must Comment Monday all bloggers really appreciate comments, a list of blogs can be found over on the wiki.

Hope you all have a good day, and I shall see you in the comments at some point!

Must Comment Monday is Back

Every now and then, you might hear us mention Must Comment Monday and wonder what it's all about. It is something we want to keep up all year round, but find difficult to do during the busy F1 season. However, now the off-season is well and truly here, it is time for MCM to make its triumphant return.

What is it all about?

If we learnt anything from the Interview with Bloggers series we did recently, it was that bloggers like comments. In many cases, they are the reason the blog exists in the first place. A comment can make a writer's day. Even if it doesn't agree with the sentiment of the article, some well-placed discussion is why we are on the web in the first place.

Must Comment Monday has been around for years, pre-Sidepodcast even. It's an initiative to turn readers into active participants rather than passive observers. Commenting only needs to take a few seconds, and it can make all the difference.

What does it involve?

It's really quite simple, and there are only a couple of guidelines to make things easier.

1. Comment on any blog post you read on a Monday that was written on that day.
2. If a writer publishes several posts a day (this means you, Joe), you only need to comment on one of them.
3. Try and further the conversation, but if you're really stuck, even a 'keep up the good work' can have the desired effect.
4. You don't need to comment on a blog that requires logins and/or signups. Although if you already have a login for the blog, then you probably should.

What is there to gain from this?

It's been said a few times before but if you're not a blogger, it's hard to explain how much a few words can mean. It can provide the inspiration to keep on going, and it's a great way of connecting with the person behind the words. Plus, we made a pretty badge, and I know you can't resist the badge.

Where's the best place to start?

Well, it's funny you should ask, but there have been a plethora of blogs popping up from Sidepodcast commentors of late. For Sidepodcast, the Must Comment Monday initiative is aimed at F1 blogs only, but there is nothing stopping you from spreading the love and commenting on other blogs as well.

There's an ongoing list of new and existing blogs over on the wiki, but here are some of our favourites to get you started. If you find any more, or if we have missed you out, let us know, and we'll pop you on the list.

• BlogF1
• F1 Tailpipe
• F1 Wolf
• James Allen on F1
• Joe Saward
• Making Up The Numbers
• Natural Born Racers
• Only One Timo Glock
• Pitlane Fanatic
• Racing Eagles
• Sofa F1
• The Blog of an F1 Loonie
• Too Much Racing

We also ask bloggers themselves to take part in, and promote Must Comment Monday too. Feel free to either grab the badge above and post it on your own site, or have fun creating your own. You can link to this explanation, the dedicated page or blog about how comments make a difference to you as a writer and encourage more. By all means Tweet, Facebook or do whatever you can to promote more interaction in your blog.

Finally, come back and let us know your Must Comment Monday experiences - did you find new friends, new blogs, or new ideas? Or is the whole thing a bit of a chore. We want to know.

Must Comment Monday (redux)

Earlier on in the year you may recall the introduction of Must Comment Monday. The premise was simple - further the F1 conversation by means of the humble comment.

As it happened, not long after the concept debuted, Formula 1 went a bit mental and we had a tough time keeping up with comments on this site, let alone anywhere else. However, now that the season is over, and given that this year there's no long-running espionage scandal bubbling away in the background, it feels like a quiet enough period to take a second stab at it.

A quick reminder then. The idea is a simple one - if a blogger publishes a post on a Monday and you happen to read it, then you must leave a comment. Ideally it would be the kind of input that furthers the conversation in some way, but honestly anything that turns someone from a passive reader into a contributor is good in our book.

The theory is, feedback encourages bloggers to write more, which in turn increases the likelyhood of better and more informed conversation. If you missed this the first time round, or need a refresh of the rules (all two of them), we have a page just for you.

This is meant to be a bit of fun to occupy persons during the "quiet period" and our goal is to try and keep this up until the racing gets going again in Australia.

It would be most excellent if anyone is considering taking part. Let us know, and we'll begin this coming Monday. Also, feel free to promote your blog in the comments if you're planning on posting and we'll promise to stop by and say "hullo".

Must Comment Monday

You may have heard us mention it on the show, and you may have noticed us littering comments around the web yesterday, but what does it all mean? Must Comment Monday is back!

What is it?

You see these things all the time: Photo Friday, Talky Tuesday, Question Saturday. Some of them are genuinely cool things to take part in , and some of them are just a way for people to come up with ideas to fill their blogs. Sidepodcast doesn't like to miss out on anything, so we're resurrecting one of the best: Must Comment Monday.

This is something that I came up with, back in the days before Sidepodcast - those long, long hours spent thinking about things other than Formula 1. What was that like? With the demise of my personal blog, Must Comment Monday went out the window as well. But it was a good idea, and that's why we're bringing it back.

What does it mean?

Everybody loves to read blogs, but sometimes it's only when you feel exceptionally compelled that you might leave a comment. Comments take extra time, and does anyone read them anyway? As a blogger, I can tell you that comments are about 70% of the reason why we blog. The rest is all about having a platform to moan about Mosley or brood about Button.

Here at Sidepodcast, we live to read your comments. You guys add so much to the conversation and are incredibly intelligent, picking us up when we're wrong, and teaching us things we don't know. In my case, that's quite a lot.

Anyway, Must Comment Monday is an attempt to make commenting a part of the routine. Each Monday, every F1 blog we read, we're gonna comment on. It's as simple as that.

Are there rules?

Generally, I stick to a few rules:

1. You comment on a Monday, therefore the blog post should be from Monday. If there's more than one post that day, you only need to comment on one, but feel free to do more if you want.
2. You don't have to comment on blogs that require you to sign up/log in.
3. "I agree" or "Right on man" is not really adding anything to the conversation, and is therefore not really in the spirit of the game.

What do I have to do?

Nothing. You can sit back and revel in the improved conversation.

Or you can take part, join in the fun and make Monday your commenting day. If I'm not convincing you yet, here are two more things I'm gonna try.

First, leaving a comment can seriously make someone's day. You can be happy in the knowledge that you made a blogger smile. You might start a conversation, make new friends, revel in a new found social circle.

No?

Okay, fine, then we've made you a button badge:

Isn't it pretty? You can't possibly resist the button badge.

Must Comment Monday. You know you want to.

Episode 50 - It's a Bit Extreme and No One's Done It Before

• Length: 23:09 
• Size: 21.3 MB 
• File: episode51.mp3 
• Enhanced: episode51.m4a 
• Transcript: episode51.pdf 
• Torrent: episode51.torrent 

Sidepodcast reaches the ripe old age of 50 shows, which is such a milestone that we don't even mention it!

Intro

We're better and busy, tweaking the blog here and there - see if you can spot our amendments.

Good Week / Bad Week

The Australian GP and Christian Klien share our bad week accolade, whilst Honda and Trulli cash in on the good luck.

News and Views

A catchup of the news from Barcelona, even though it is ongoing as we record. The new Red Bull fin, McLaren's head down attitude, and Williams troubles, all discussed here. We also recap the Honda and Renault launches, whether our predictions last week came true, and what we think of their new sites. Plus, visit thepaddockmagazine.com for a unique insight on the world of Formula 1.

On The Phones

Two wonderful people called and left us voicemail this week, and we try to encourage more. Plus, someone starts a conversation with himself.

Housekeeping

The Facebook group grows ever stronger, with some amusing comments to share. One of my favourite men is doing his thing over in the States. Finally, we start a new initiative - Must Comment Monday.